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Another mud/winter tire thread

stinky6

Monkey
Dec 24, 2004
517
0
Monroe
I did a search and didn't find what I was looking for so...
Anyone tired a dedicated mud tire, like a swampthing, or another spike tire? Are they overkill for the DH around here in the winter? Also has anyone tried the Intense Intruders? I remember Dirt mag saying they are a great mud tire; actually I think they said they were the best non-spike mud tire they had tried.
I currently have Michelein 2.8 comp 32 in the front and a 2.5 comp 24 in the back. They work ok, but I think they are a little fat for mud riding and I can afford a new set of tires so I wouldn't mind trying something different.
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
You cant get wet screams (true spike) in the US (althought they are not to bad to import) but swampthings are available.

Prob I see/find around here is that you need a tire that is soft enough to grip on all the muddy roots and rocks...not just open mug/grass...so you would want to stick with SR or ST from maxxis. These same roots and rocks (for me) call for a 2.5" tire...and lots of true mud tires are 2.2 ish...

The mich comp 16 would also be a good choice. They work well in soft terrain (but I would not call them a true mud tire) and have the same great rubber that is on the other mich DH tires. If you need, you can cut some treads to make them even more mud-ish.
 

aktallguy

Monkey
Aug 31, 2006
117
0
Puget Sound, WA
I have a set of wet screams and have been able to bike through 4" of bubble gum slop with them, but unless you've got 1" thick mud all over the trail they're not worth it. The straight line traction is crazy and they've never clogged up on me, but they have very little cornering traction. They sit in my garage for all but 1 or 2 rides a year.
 

stinky6

Monkey
Dec 24, 2004
517
0
Monroe
Thanks for the input, it sounds like a spike tire would be overkill. I think I'm going to go with Intense Intruders or Nevegals. Anyone know of a shop that has Intruders in stock? I've had Nevegals before and wouldn't mind trying something different.
 

iridebikes

Monkey
Jan 31, 2004
960
0
seattle
minnions... That's about it. For really muddy situations the Michi DH 16 is a rad tire. sucks on hardpack, but it sweet once it starts getting muddy. You never really need true mud spikes here. The dirt just doesn't call for it, it seems. I rode the Arduum race in BC. It pissed rain the entire time. One guy had true mud tires on. But even he said that the minnions were better. The Nevigal is a good fast rolling tire, but isn't the best for muddy conditions it seems. My experience with syncros tires wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say that they're a great mud tire by any means. It was a great tire for tacky conditions and dry trails. But once it got muddy it was pretty sketch.

No real experience with Intense tires other than they're stupid heavy... The indruder looks like it might be an ok tread pattern, slow rolling though. But a 2.35 tire weighs half pound more than a 2.5 minnion...
 

Fromet

Monkey
May 26, 2006
118
0
Seattle
I would definitely suggest Maxxis Swamp Thing's as a the mud tire of choice. That is if you need the maximum wet weather performance. Otherwise, Maxxis Minions and Kenda Nevegals are year round staples here in the PNW. The side wall on the Nevegal feels a bit more supple than the Minnion but Maxxis makes up for that with the terrific 3C rubber. It wear's great and hooks up magnificently.

After all that, I think a Minion 3C front Nevegal rear combo is the King Sh#t setup.
 

stinky6

Monkey
Dec 24, 2004
517
0
Monroe
minnions... That's about it. For really muddy situations the Michi DH 16 is a rad tire. sucks on hardpack, but it sweet once it starts getting muddy. You never really need true mud spikes here. The dirt just doesn't call for it, it seems. I rode the Arduum race in BC. It pissed rain the entire time. One guy had true mud tires on. But even he said that the minnions were better. The Nevigal is a good fast rolling tire, but isn't the best for muddy conditions it seems. My experience with syncros tires wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say that they're a great mud tire by any means. It was a great tire for tacky conditions and dry trails. But once it got muddy it was pretty sketch.

No real experience with Intense tires other than they're stupid heavy... The indruder looks like it might be an ok tread pattern, slow rolling though. But a 2.35 tire weighs half pound more than a 2.5 minnion...
Do you run the front and rear Minions or just the front tire front and back? Also I thought the new Intense FRO Lite tires were supposed to be more reasonable concerning weight, or are they still heavier than the average tire?
 

iridebikes

Monkey
Jan 31, 2004
960
0
seattle
The intense tires are still heavy. doesn't matter what tire you go with, they'll still be heavier than the average tire. But they're less prone to flatting.

As for Minnions. I run a minnion front both front and rear. They have better cornering knobs compared to the rear. They roll faster than a highroller, but the highroller run in the back gives you slightly better stopping power, thought it rolls slightly slower.